Oisín Gallen (born 1999/2000) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who plays for Seán Mac Cumhaills and the Donegal county team. He plays as a forward.

Playing career

Club

2018 was when Gallen first played for his club in the senior championship. In the 2023 Donegal Senior Football Championship quarter-final, his club had a surprise 1–17 to 1–14 victory against Glenswilly at O'Donnell Park, a game in which Gallen scored 1–9 of his club's total, and qualified for the competition's semi-final. Gallen was also the competition's top scorer, with 1–56. On 13 December 2023, Gallen was named as the recipient of the annual Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh.

Inter-county

Gallen made his inter-county debut in the 2019 Dr McKenna Cup. Not part of the Donegal panel at the start of the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, he was called up over the course of the McKenna Cup as Donegal were short on numbers. He made his league debut in the third fixture of the 2019 competition against Tipperary, starting and scoring three points (including one free). He again started the fourth fixture and scored a point against

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

. He started the fifth fixture against

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

. He started and scored another point in the sixth fixture against

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. He started the seventh fixture against

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

, scoring four points. Donegal qualified for the National Football League Division 2 final and Gallen started the game and scored four points as Donegal defeated

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

to win the title. Gallen made his championship debut against Tyrone in the 2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship. He made another substitute appearance against Cavan in the final and scored a point. He later picked up an Ulster medal, his first at any level of play. In October 2019 (during the Gaelic football off-season), Gallen attended an

AFL Draft Combine The AFL Draft Combine, formerly known as the AFL Draft Camp, is a gathering of prospective talent, where selected potential draftees display their athletic prowess and relevant Australian rules football skills. Over four days participants are req ...

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, Australia. He later explained: "To get away for two weeks to Australia to try out in a professional sport was something I couldn't turn down. It was curiosity more than anything. You want to see what the level there is like and you want to see is there anything you can pick up or learn… I was up against the top young athletes in Australia and there hopefully are things there, standards I can take back home and apply to Gaelic football". Gallen had surgery on his shoulder in early December 2019, causing him to miss the early part of the 2020 season. He did not feature in any of the first five fixtures in the 2020 National Football League. They were played before the competition was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the 2020 National League resumed in October, Gallen started and played 45 minutes of the league game against Tyrone, before being substituted for Andrew McClean. Gallen then played 63 minutes of the game away to Kerry, before being substituted for Conor O'Donnell, on what was the Carndonagh footballer's debut. Gallen then made a substitute appearance against Tyrone in the 2020 Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final, scoring one point. He made another substitute appearance against Armagh in the semi-final, again scoring a point. However, Gallen sustained an injury during training ahead of the final and could not play. Gallen made a substitute appearance in Donegal's opening fixture of the 2021 National Football League, against Tyrone. He started the next game, against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

, scoring three points. Gallen did not feature in the third game against Armagh, though he started the last game against

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He made a substitute appearance against

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in the 2021 Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final. He was named on the bench against Tyrone in the semi-final, but not play in the game. Gallen appeared as a substitute in the 2022 National Football League fixture against Tyrone but then sustained an injury, missing the 2022 Ulster Senior Football Championship, including the final. With his playing time often limited by injury in the early years of his career, Gallen started a senior inter-county championship game for the first time against Clare in the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. His nine-point tally against Derry's 2022 All Star recipient Chrissy McKaigue in Donegal's next game brought Gallen to national attention. He then scored five points against Monaghan and four points against Tyrone. Gallen won an All Star at the end of the 2024 season. He was nominated for one in 2023.

Personal life

Gallen is from

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...

Honours

;Donegal *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

(2):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* National Football League Division 2 (2):

;Individual * All Star (1): 2024 * Gradam Shéamuis Mhic Géidigh:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

*''

Donegal News The ''Donegal News'' (also known as ''Derry People/Donegal News'' and formerly ''Derry People'') is a twice-weekly local newspaper in the northwest of the island of Ireland, first published in 1902. Originally covering Derry, Northern Ireland, i ...

'' Sports Personality winner: June 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallen, Oisin Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballers Gaelic football forwards People from Ballybofey Seán MacCumhaills Gaelic footballers Year of birth uncertain